Alcohol dehydrogenases in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N: role in hexadecane and hexadecanol metabolism

Metabolism and Biodegradation of Spacecraft Cleaning Reagents by Strains of Spacecraft-Associated Acinetobacter

Spacecraft assembly facilities are oligotrophic and low-humidity environments, which are routinely cleaned using alcohol wipes for benchtops and spacecraft materials, and alkaline detergents for floors. Despite these cleaning protocols, spacecraft assembly facilities possess a persistent, diverse, dynamic, and low abundant core microbiome, where the Acinetobacter are among the dominant members of the community. In this report, we show that several spacecraft-associated Acinetobacter metabolize or biodegrade the spacecraft cleaning reagents of ethanol (ethyl alcohol), 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol), and Kleenol 30 (floor detergent) under ultraminimal conditions. Using cultivation and stable isotope labeling studies, we show that ethanol is a sole carbon source when cultivating in 0.2 × M9 minimal medium containing 26 μM Fe(NH4)2(SO4)2. Although cultures expectedly did not grow solely on 2-propanol, cultivations on mixtures of ethanol and 2-propanol exhibited enhanced plate counts at mole ratios of ≤0.50. In support, enzymology experiments on cellular extracts were consistent with oxidation of ethanol and 2-propanol by a membrane-bound alcohol dehydrogenase. In the presence of Kleenol 30, untargeted metabolite profiling on ultraminimal cultures of Acinetobacter radioresistens 50v1 indicated (1) biodegradation of Kleenol 30 into products including ethylene glycols, (2) the potential metabolism of decanoate (formed during incubation of Kleenol 30 in 0.2 × M9), and (3) decreases in the abundances of several hydroxy- and ketoacids in the extracellular metabolome. In ultraminimal medium (when using ethanol as a sole carbon source), A. radioresistens 50v1 also exhibits a remarkable survival against hydrogen peroxide (∼1.5-log loss, ∼108 colony forming units (cfu)/mL, 10 mM H2O2), indicating a considerable tolerance toward oxidative stress under nutrient-restricted conditions. Together, these results suggest that the spacecraft cleaning reagents may (1) serve as nutrient sources under oligotrophic conditions and (2) sustain extremotolerances against the oxidative stresses associated with low-humidity environments. In perspective, this study provides a plausible biochemical rationale to the observed microbial ecology dynamics of spacecraft-associated environments.

Two novel metal-independent long-chain alkyl alcohol dehydrogenases from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans NG80-2

Two alkyl alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) genes from the long-chain alkane-degrading strain Geobacillus thermodenitrificans NG80-2 were characterized in vitro. ADH1 and ADH2 were prepared heterologously in Escherichia coli as a homooctameric and a homodimeric protein, respectively. Both ADHs can oxidize a broad range of alkyl alcohols up to at least C(30), as well as 1,3-propanediol and acetaldehyde. ADH1 also oxidizes glycerol, and ADH2 oxidizes isopropyl alcohol, isoamylol, acetone, octanal and decanal. The best substrate is ethanol for ADH1 and 1-octanol for ADH2. For both ADHs, the optimum assay condition is at 60 degrees C and pH 8.0, and both NAD and NADP can be used as the cofactor. Sequence analysis reveals that ADH1 and ADH2 belong to the Fe-containing/activated long-chain ADHs. However, the two enzymes contain neither Fe nor other metals, and Fe is not required for the activity, suggesting a new type of ADH. The ADHs characterized here are potentially useful in crude oil bioremediation and other bioconversion processes.

Two acyl-CoA dehydrogenases of Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1 that uses very long-chain n-alkanes

Two genes encoding acyl-CoA dehydrogenases, acdA and acdB, arranged in tandem, were found in the chromosomal DNA of Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1. AcdA was purified from the parental strain and AcdB was purified from an Escherichia coli strain expressing the cloned gene. The substrate specificities of the two enzymes suggest that AcdA is a medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase and that AcdB is a long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase. Characterization of n-alkane metabolism in Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1 has revealed parallel pathways as well as enzymes with overlapping specificities in a single pathway. The two acyl-CoA dehydrogenases described here provide another example of the physiological complexity underlying n-alkane utilization.

Roles for the two 1-butanol dehydrogenases of Pseudomonas butanovora in butane and 1-butanol metabolism

Pseudomonas butanovora grown on butane or 1-butanol expresses two 1-butanol dehydrogenases, a quinoprotein (BOH) and a quinohemoprotein (BDH). BOH exhibited high affinity towards 1-butanol (K(m) = 1.7 +/- 0.2 microM). BOH also oxidized butyraldehyde and 2-butanol (K(m) = 369 +/- 85 microM and K(m) = 662 +/- 98 microM, respectively). The mRNA induction profiles of BOH and BDH at three different levels of 1-butanol, a nontoxic level (0.1 mM), a growth-supporting level (2 mM), and a toxic level (40 mM), were similar. When cells were grown in citrate-containing medium in the presence of different levels of 1-butanol, wild-type P. butanovora could tolerate higher levels of 1-butanol than the P. butanovora boh::tet strain and the P. butanovora bdh::kan strain. A model is proposed in which the electrons from 1-butanol oxidation follow a branched electron transport chain. BOH may be coupled to ubiquinone, with the electrons being transported to a cyanide-sensitive terminal oxidase. In contrast, electrons from BDH may be transferred to a terminal oxidase that is less sensitive to cyanide. The former pathway may function primarily in energy generation, while the latter may be more important in the detoxification of 1-butanol.

Two distinct alcohol dehydrogenases participate in butane metabolism by Pseudomonas butanovora

The involvement of two primary alcohol dehydrogenases, BDH and BOH, in butane utilization in Pseudomonas butanovora (ATCC 43655) was demonstrated. The genes coding for BOH and BDH were isolated and characterized. The deduced amino acid sequence of BOH suggests a 67-kDa alcohol dehydrogenase containing pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) as cofactor and in the periplasm (29-residue leader sequence). The deduced amino acid sequence of BDH is consistent with a 70.9-kDa, soluble, periplasmic (37-residue leader sequence) alcohol dehydrogenase containing PQQ and heme c as cofactors. BOH and BDH mRNAs were induced whenever the cell's 1-butanol oxidation activity was induced. When induced with butane, the gene for BOH was expressed earlier than the gene for BDH. Insertional disruption of bdh or boh affected adversely, but did not eliminate, butane utilization by P. butanovora. The P. butanovora mutant with both genes boh and bdh inactivated was unable to grow on butane or 1-butanol. These cells, when grown in citrate and incubated in butane, developed butane oxidation capability and accumulated 1-butanol. The enzyme activity of BOH was characterized in cell extracts of the P. butanovora strain with bdh disrupted. Unlike BDH, BOH oxidized 2-butanol. The results support the involvement of two distinct NAD(+)-independent, PQQ-containing alcohol dehydrogenases, BOH (a quinoprotein) and BDH (a quinohemoprotein), in the butane oxidation pathway of P. butanovora.

Thermostable NADP(+)-dependent medium-chain alcohol dehydrogenase from Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1: purification and characterization and gene expression in Escherichia coli

NADPH-dependent alkylaldehyde reducing enzyme, which was greatly induced by n-hexadecane, from Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1 was purified and characterized. The purified enzyme had molecular masses of 40 kDa as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 160 kDa as determined by gel filtration chromatography. The enzyme, which was shown to be highly thermostable, was most active toward n-heptanal and could use n-alkylaldehydes ranging from C(2) to C(14) and several substituted benzaldehydes, including the industrially important compounds cinnamyl aldehyde and anisaldehyde, as substrates. The alrA gene coding for this enzyme was cloned, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence encoded by the alrA gene exhibited homology to the amino acid sequences of zinc-containing alcohol dehydrogenases from various sources. The gene could be highly expressed in Escherichia coli, and the product was purified to homogeneity by simpler procedures from the recombinant than from the original host. Our results show that this enzyme can be used for industrial bioconversion of useful alcohols and aldehydes.

Long-chain aldehyde dehydrogenase that participates in n-alkane utilization and wax ester synthesis in Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1

A long-chain aldehyde dehydrogenase, Ald1, was found in a soluble fraction of Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1 cells grown on n-hexadecane as a sole carbon source. The gene (ald1) was cloned from the chromosomal DNA of the bacterium. The open reading frame of ald1 was 1,512 bp long, corresponding to a protein of 503 amino acid residues (molecular mass, 55,496 Da), and the deduced amino acid sequence showed high similarity to those of various aldehyde dehydrogenases. The ald1 gene was stably expressed in Escherichia coli, and the gene product (recombinant Ald1 [rAld1]) was purified to apparent homogeneity by gel electrophoresis. rAld1 showed enzyme activity toward n-alkanals (C(4) to C(14)), with a preference for longer carbon chains within the tested range; the highest activity was obtained with tetradecanal. The ald1 gene was disrupted by homologous recombination on the Acinetobacter genome. Although the ald1 disruptant (ald1Delta) strain still had the ability to grow on n-hexadecane to some extent, its aldehyde dehydrogenase activity toward n-tetradecanal was reduced to half the level of the wild-type strain. Under nitrogen-limiting conditions, the accumulation of intracellular wax esters in the ald1Delta strain became much lower than that in the wild-type strain. These and other results imply that a soluble long-chain aldehyde dehydrogenase indeed plays important roles both in growth on n-alkane and in wax ester formation in Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1.

Isolation of mutants of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus deficient in wax ester synthesis and complementation of one mutation with a gene encoding a fatty acyl coenzyme A reductase

Acinetobacter calcoaceticus BD413 accumulates wax esters and triacylglycerol under conditions of mineral nutrient limitation. Nitrosoguanidine-induced mutants of strain BD413 were isolated that failed to accumulate wax esters under nitrogen-limited growth conditions. One of the mutants, Wow15 (without wax), accumulated wax when grown in the presence of cis-11-hexadecenal and hexadecanol but not hexadecane or hexadecanoic acid. This suggested that the mutation may have inactivated a gene encoding either an acyl-acyl carrier protein or acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) reductase. The Wow15 mutant was complemented with a cosmid genomic library prepared from wild-type A. calcoaceticus BD413. The complementary region was localized to a single gene (acr1) encoding a protein of 32,468 Da that is 44% identical over a region of 264 amino acids to a product of unknown function encoded by an open reading frame associated with mycolic acid synthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra. Extracts of Escherichia coli cells expressing the acr1 gene catalyzed the reduction of acyl-CoA to the corresponding fatty aldehyde, indicating that the gene encodes a novel fatty acyl-CoA reductase.

Mineralization of [14C]octacosane by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus S30

Acinetobacter calcoaceticus S30 could grow (doubling time, 7 h) on octacosane (C28) and degraded about 70% of the substrate during growth. Octacosanol, octacosanoic acid, and other lower carboxylic acids were identified during degradation of octacosane. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus S30 could also grow on intermediate metabolites, namely octacosanol and octacosanoic acid, although the doubling time was greater on octacosanoic acid (72 h on octacosanol and 120 h on octacosanoic acid). Whole cells of A. calcoaceticus S30 using [18-14C]octacosane mineralized 65% of the octacosane to 14CO2 and 30% of the radiolabel was retained in the cell biomass in 24 h. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus S30 converts octacosane to octacosanol through an oxidation step, which is then oxidized to octacosanoic acid and then β-oxidized to CO2. Among several metabolic inhibitors, those of the sulphydryl group greatly inhibited the uptake of octacosanol and octacosanoic acid at much lower concentrations. The electron transport inhibitors were potent inhibitors of octacosane, octacosanol, and octacosanoic acid uptake, suggesting that the oxidation of these substrates is an energy-dependent process.Key words: Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, mineralization, octacosane, octacosanol, octacosanoic acid.

Isolation and characterization of a novel oxygenase that catalyzes the first step of n-alkane oxidation in Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1

In the Finnerty pathway for n-alkane, oxidation in Acinetobacter sp., n-alkanes are postulated to be attacked by a dioxygenase and the product, n-alkyl hydroperoxide, is further metabolized to the corresponding aldehyde via the peroxy acid [W. R. Finnerty, P. 184-188, in A. H. Applewhite (ed.), Proceedings of the World Conference on Biotechnology for the Fats and Oil Industry, 1988]. However, no biochemical evidence regarding the first-step reaction is available. In this study, we found a novel n-alkane-oxidizing enzyme that requires only molecular oxygen, i.e., not NAD(P)H, in our isolate, Acinetobacter sp. strain M-1, and purified it to apparent homogeneity by gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme is a homodimeric protein with a molecular mass of 134 kDa, contains 1 mol of flavin adenine dinucleotide per mol of subunit, and requires CU2+ for its activity. The enzyme uses n-alkanes ranging in length from 10 to 30 carbon atoms and is also active toward n-alkenes (C12 to C20) and some aromatic compounds with substituted alkyl groups but not toward a branched alkane, alcohol, or aldehyde. Transient accumulation of n-alkyl hydroperoxide was detected in the course of the reaction, and no oxygen radical scavengers affected the enzyme activity. From these properties, the enzyme is most probably a dioxygenase that catalyzes the introduction of two atoms of oxygen to the substrate, leading to the formation of the corresponding n-alkyl hydroperoxide. The enzymatic evidence strongly supports the existence of an n-alkane oxidation pathway, which is initiated by a dioxygenase reaction, in Acinetobacter spp.

Isolation, characterization, and sequence analysis of cryptic plasmids from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and their use in the construction of Escherichia coli shuttle plasmids

Three cryptic plasmids have been discovered in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus BD413. These three plasmids, designated pWM10 (7.4 kb), pWM11 (2.4 kb), and pWM12 (2.2 kb), exhibited extensive homology to one another, as shown by Southern blot hybridization and restriction site analysis data, and also hybridized with three plasmids having slightly different sizes detected in a second strain, A. calcoaceticus BD4. Plasmid pWM11 and a fragment of pWM10 were each subcloned into pUC19, yielding plasmids pWM4 and pWM6, respectively, and were used in a series of inter- and intraspecies transformation experiments. Both plasmids replicated as high-copy-number plasmids in A. calcoaceticus BD413, as well as in strains of Escherichia coli. However, when transformed into the oil-degrading strain Acinetobacter lwoffii RAG-1, both plasmids were maintained at low copy numbers. No modification of the plasmids was detected after repeated transfers between hosts. An analysis of a series of deletions demonstrated that (i) a 185-bp fragment of pWM11 was sufficient to permit replication of the shuttle plasmid in A. calcoaceticus BD413, (ii) the efficiency of transformation of A. calcoaceticus BD413 decreased according to the size of the deletion in the insert by up to 4 orders of magnitude, and (iii) the entire insert was required for transformation and replication in A. lwoffii RAG-1. The sequence of pWM11 contained several small (150- to 300-bp) open reading frames, none of which exhibited any homology to known DNA or protein sequences. In addition, a number of inverted and direct repeats, as well as six copies of the consensus sequence AAAAAAATA previously described for a cryptic plasmid from A. lwoffii (M. Hunger, R. Schmucker, V. Kishan, and W. Hillen, Gene 87:45-51, 1990), were detected. Cloning and expression of the alcohol dehydrogenase regulon from A. lwoffii RAG-1 were accomplished by using the Acinetobacter shuttle plasmid.

Molecular analysis and nucleotide sequence of the adh1 gene encoding an NADPH-dependent butanol dehydrogenase in the Gram-positive anaerobe Clostridium acetobutylicum

The nucleotide sequence of a 2081-bp fragment of Clostridium acetobutylicum DNA containing the adh1 gene was determined. The butanol dehydrogenase gene is referred to as the adh1 gene since it was shown to have activity using butanol and ethanol as substrates. The adh1 gene consisted of 1164 bp and encoded an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme of 388 aa residues with an Mr of 43,274. The adh1 gene was separated from an upstream open reading frame by an intergenic region of 354 bp. No promoter consensus sequences were identified in the intergenic upstream region and the adh1 gene did not appear to be expressed off its own promoter in Escherichia coli. Three separate types of ADH have been recognized. The ADH1 from C. acetobutylicum exhibited 39% homology with the Fe-containing ADH2 from Zymomonas mobilis and 37% homology with the ADH4 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but showed little or no homology with the other characterised types of ADH.

Cloning and Expression of a Clostridium acetobutylicum Alcohol Dehydrogenase Gene in Escherichia coli

An alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene from Clostridium acetobutylicum was cloned on a recombinant plasmid, pCADH100. Escherichia coli HB101, and an allyl alcohol-resistant mutant, HB101-adh1, containing this plasmid were unable to grow aerobically or anaerobically on agar media containing sublethal concentrations of allyl alcohol. E. coli HB101 and HB101-adh1 transformed with the plasmid pCADH100 produced increased levels of ethanol when grown anaerobically under alkaline conditions in the absence of nitrate. Cell extracts from aerobically and anaerobically grown E. coli HB101(pCADH100) and HB101-adhl(pCADH100) cells exhibited increased levels of NADP-dependent ADH activity with either ethanol or butanol as the substrate. The inability of E. coli HB101(pCADH100) to grow in the presence of allyl alcohol correlated with the appearance of an NADP-dependent ADH activity band on nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with either ethanol or butanol as the substrate. The position of the cloned NADP-dependent ADH activity bands in E. coli HB101(pCADH100) cell extracts with either ethanol or butanol as the substrate coincided with the position of a single NADP-dependent ADH activity band in extracts of C. acetobutylicum cells. E. coli HB101(pCADH100) cell extracts prepared from both aerobically and anaerobically grown cells exhibited an additional protein band with an apparent M r of approximately 33,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacryl-amide gel electrophoresis which was absent in cell extracts of E. coli HB101. A protein band with a similar apparent M r was observed in cell extracts of C. acetobutylicum , and in vitro transcription and translation experiments with pCADH100 produced a major protein product with a similar apparent M r .

Purification and Properties of Primary and Secondary Alcohol Dehydrogenases from Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus

Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus (ATCC 31550) has primary and secondary alcohol dehydrogenases. The two enzymes were purified to homogeneity as judged from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and gel filtration. The apparent M r s of the primary and secondary alcohol dehydrogenases are 184,000 and 172,000, respectively. Both enzymes have high thermostability. They are tetrameric with apparently identical subunits and contain from 3.2 to 5.5 atoms of Zn per subunit. The two dehydrogenases are NADP dependent and reversibly convert ethanol and 1-propanol to the respective aldehydes. The V m values with ethanol as a substrate are 45.6 μmol/min per mg for the primary alcohol dehydrogenase and 13 μmol/min per mg for the secondary alcohol dehydrogenase at pH 8.9 and 60°C. The primary enzyme oxidizes primary alcohols, including up to heptanol, at rates similar to that of ethanol. It is inactive with secondary alcohols. The secondary enzyme is inactive with 1-pentanol or longer chain alcohols. Its best substrate is 2-propanol, which is oxidized 15 times faster than ethanol. The secondary alcohol dehydrogenase is formed early during the growth cycle. It is stimulated by pyruvate and has a low K m for acetaldehyde (44.8 mM) in comparison to that of the primary alcohol dehydrogenase (210 mM). The latter enzyme is formed late in the growth cycle. It is postulated that the secondary alcohol dehydrogenase is largely responsible for the formation of ethanol in fermentations of carbohydrates by T. ethanolicus.

Degradation of n-haloalkanes and alpha, omega-dihaloalkanes by wild-type and mutants of Acinetobacter sp. strain GJ70

A 1,6-dichlorohexane-degrading strain of Acinetobacter sp. was isolated from activated sludge. The organism could grow with and quantitatively release halide from 1,6-dichlorohexane, 1,9-dichlorononane, 1-chloropentane, 1-chlorobutane, 1-bromopentane, ethylbromide, and 1-iodopropane. Crude extracts contained an inducible novel dehalogenase that liberated halide from the above compounds and also from 1,3-dichloropropane, 1,2-dibromoethane, and 2-bromoethanol. The latter two compounds were toxic suicide substrates for the organism at concentrations of 10 and 5 microM, respectively. Mutants resistant to 1,2-dibromoethane (3 mM) lacked dehalogenase activity and did not utilize haloalkanes for growth. Mutants resistant to both 1,2-dibromoethane (3 mM) and 2-bromoethanol (30 mM) could no longer oxidize or utilize alcohols and were capable of hydrolytic dehalogenation of 1,2-dibromoethane to ethylene glycol.

Fatty aldehyde dehydrogenases in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N: role in hexadecanol metabolism

The role of fatty aldehyde dehydrogenases (FALDHs) in hexadecane and hexadecanol metabolism was studied in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N. Two distinct FALDHs were demonstrated in Acinetobacter sp. strain HO1-N: a membrane-bound, NADP-dependent FALDH activity induced 5-, 15-, and 9-fold by growth on hexadecanol, dodecyl aldehyde, and hexadecane, respectively, and a constitutive, NAD-dependent, membrane-localized FALDH. The NADP-dependent FALDH exhibited apparent Km and Vmax values for decyl aldehyde of 5.0, 13.0, 18.0, and 18.3 microM and 537.0, 500.0, 25.0, and 38.0 nmol/min in hexadecane-, hexadecanol-, ethanol-, palmitate-grown cells, respectively. FALDH isozymes ald-a, ald-b, and ald-c were demonstrated by gel electrophoresis in extracts of hexadecane- and hexadecanol-grown cells. ald-a, ald-b, and ald-d were present in dodecyl aldehyde-grown cells, while palmitate-grown control cells contained ald-b and ald-d. Dodecyl aldehyde-negative mutants were isolated and grouped into two phenotypic classes based on growth: class 1 mutants were hexadecane and hexadecanol negative and class 2 mutants were hexadecane and hexadecanol positive. Specific activity of NADP-dependent FALDH in Ald21 (class 1 mutant) was 85% lower than that of wild-type FALDH, while the specific activity of Ald24 (class 2 mutant) was 55% greater than that of wild-type FALDH. Ald21R, a dodecyl aldehyde-positive revertant able to grow on hexadecane, hexadecanol, and dodecyl aldehyde, exhibited a 100% increase in the specific activity of the NADP-dependent FALDH. The oxidation of [3H]hexadecane byAld21 yielded the accumulation of 61% more fatty aldehyde than the wild type, while Ald24 accumulated 27% more fatty aldehyde, 95% more fatty alcohol, and 65% more wax ester than the wild type. This study provides genetic and physiological evidence for the role of fatty aldehyde as an essential metabolic intermediate and NADP-dependent FALDH as a key enzyme in the dissimilation of hexadecane, hexadecanol, and dodecyl aldehyde in Acinetobactor sp. strain HO1-N.